10.5.2023

Race for Speaker Begins

Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R, LA-1) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R, OH-4) announced yesterday they are running for House speaker, setting up a showdown to replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R, CA-20), who this week became the first speaker in US history to be removed from office. 

Scalise, 57, and Jordan, 59, are considered the frontrunners in the race. Scalise, who was the second-highest-ranking Republican, was wounded in 2017 after a gunman opened fire during a congressional baseball practice and was more recently diagnosed with blood cancer. Jordan is a cofounder of the House Freedom Caucus and was first nominated for the speaker role in January by Republicans who opposed McCarthy, though he chose to support McCarthy at the time.

Republican Study Committee Chairman Kevin Hern (OK-1) is also considering running for speaker. Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R, MN-6), who is backing Scalise and was seen as a potential speaker candidate, is running for majority leader.  Contenders for speaker will make their case at a forum Tuesday, with an expected vote tentatively set for Wednesday.

World Cup 2030

The 2030 men's World Cup will be hosted across six countries on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, international soccer officials announced yesterday, the first time the global tournament will be played across three continents. The tournament will mark the World Cup's centennial anniversary, which began in 1930. 

Cohosts Spain and Portugal submitted a bid in 2020, with Morocco joining in March. The revelation of three South American countries—Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay—came as a surprise during yesterday's selection announcement. The deal allows the opening match to be played in Uruguay's Centenario Stadium, which hosted the inaugural World Cup final (in which Uruguay beat Argentina; see original footage). All six teams will be automatically entered into the 48-team tournament. 

The plan may help defray hosting costs for each country. Brazil (2014) and Russia (2018) spent more than $12B each to host the tournament, while Qatar (2022)—which required infrastructure development—spent $220B. See a deep dive into the economics here.

Healthcare Strike

Roughly 75,000 Kaiser Permanente workers walked off the job early yesterday in the largest healthcare strike in US history. The walkout, which does not include doctors, is slated to last until Saturday, with executives claiming the system would remain open as thousands of temporary workers filled in.

Kaiser Permanente is one of the nation's largest nonprofit healthcare systems, offering both insurance coverage and treatment to its 13 million patients (how it works). Strike leaders claim management, which employs over 200,000 workers and 23,000 physicians, has failed to fully staff its 39 hospitals and hundreds of medical offices across eight states, leading to broad burnout. Workers—from nurses to pharmacists—are demanding a $25 per hour minimum wage, salary increases, strategies to deal with staff shortages, and more.

The strike is just the latest high-profile unionized labor activity this year, with walkouts from autoworkers, Hollywood actors and writers, UPS drivers, hospitality employees, and more. Track all strikes here.

Science & Technology

Business & Markets

Politics & World Affairs

In-Depth

> The Killing That Tore a Town Apart

Boston Magazine | Gretchen Voss. Inside the simmering drama in a Massachusetts suburb over the 2022 murder of Boston police officer John O'Keefe and whether his girlfriend Karen Read is to blame or was framed. Read is set to go to trial in 2024. (Read)

> The Hunt for Treasure Beneath Hell Gate

Atlas Obscura | Joaquim Salles. Legend has it that beneath the treacherous currents of Hell Gate—a tidal channel off the coast of Astoria, Queens—lies a considerable sum of Revolutionary War-era gold from a ship that sunk in 1780. (Read)

Chicago named best big city for seventh year in a row.

It's that time of year again—cast your vote in Fat Bear Week. 

The most haunted places in the world.

... and a Halloween one-stop shop. 

The qualities that make someone a dog person.

How a Cheesecake Factory can indicate a mall’s financial health.

A transit split in England shows how roads have developed.

Over 100 years of coronation outfits go on display.

Clickbait: Songs that stop on "stop." (via YouTube)

Historybook: Harry Truman makes first US presidential television address from the White House (1947); Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson born (1958); Public Broadcasting Service launches (1970); Actress Kate Winslet born (1975); Steve Jobs dies (2011).